Motivation

Announcing Fitter Faster Stronger: Get in the Best Shape of Your Life!

 

Get ready to get excited.

After months of planning, tons of time and effort creating really awesome workouts, countless calls with my mastermind group, weeks of editing, endless hours tweaking the design, and what feels like forever making sure I’ve created something I’m incredibly proud of and excited about…

I’m FINALLY officially releasing Fitter Faster Stronger!

So… what the heck is Fitter Faster Stronger?

Fitter Faster Stronger is a high intensity interval training (HIIT) program focusing on incredibly effective workouts that you can do with minimal equipment in around just 12 minutes a day.

This is the program I would have wanted when I was first starting out trying to get into shape. For less than the cost of one personal training session (or less than half the cost of one month’s gym membership), you can get the accountability, planning and motivation you need to get in the best shape of your life.

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How to Start (and Keep) a Consistent Workout Schedule

keep-a-workout-schedule

When it comes to starting something new—such as creating a workout habit—the hardest part is to stick with it long enough and keep a consistent enough schedule that it becomes a habit for life.

Because while it’s pretty easy to start doing HIIT, or eating healthy, or foam rolling after your workouts, sticking with it in the longterm is a much more difficult feat.

And we all know it’s only too easy to make excuses not to work out. You get busy. You’re too sore. Life happens.

And sooner than later, the excuses start to pile up. You end up skipping a few days, a week, maybe even a few weeks—and before you know it, you’re back at square one. It’s a vicious cycle.

In fact, learning to keep a consistent workout schedule is one of the subjects 12 Minute Athlete readers email me about the most. But it doesn’t have to be that difficult.

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How to Work Out Like an Athlete

How to work out like an athlete

I really, truly believe that deep down, everybody is an athlete.

It doesn’t matter if you sucked at sports in high school. Or how uncoordinated you are. Or if you can’t do a pull up (yet).

If you believe it, you are an athlete.

“If you have a body, you are an athlete.” – Bill Bowerman, Nike Founder

But you can’t truly harness your power as an athlete if you don’t act like one when you’re working out. If you really want to be an athlete, you have to train like one.

So here’s how to get started:

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handstand push ups

Handstand Push Ups: Why They Rock (And How to Start Doing Them)

handstand push ups

If you’re like most people I know, then then there’s a high probability that of the hundreds of different exercises we do during 12 Minute Athlete workouts, handstand push ups intimidate you the most.

Maybe they’re so intimidating that you’ve never even tried them, and have a habit of skipping any workouts where they’re included.

In fact, you probably think they’re near impossible — that they’re only for gymnast types with insanely broad shoulders, and strong, compact bodies.

But let me tell you a secret: you can do handstand push ups.

I don’t care how strong you are, how long your arms are (my nickname for years was spaghetti arms, so I can relate), how unbalanced and uncoordinated you are.

Unless you have a shoulder injury or something else actually prohibiting you from standing upside down, there’s absolutely no reason you can’t do handstand push ups.

Because here’s the thing: you don’t have to be superhuman to do handstand push ups. And just like anything else, you can break them down into progressions that will eventually lead you to working the full thing.

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The Secret to an Awesome Workout

the secret to an awesome workout

Ever wonder why sometimes, you feel strong and awesome and powerful when your workout is over, and other times, your workout just kind of… well, sucks?

Sure, it could be due to external factors—maybe you haven’t been feeling that great lately, or maybe you’re extra stressed/sad/overwhelmed with life. Heck, even little things such as changes in temperature can affect your workout (I certainly experienced that in Mexico).

But while these annoyances are, for the most part, out of your control, there are several things you can do to make sure your workout is as awesome as humanly possible.

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It's Time to Stop Talking—And Start Doing

start taking action

It’s rare to come across someone who doesn’t want to be in really awesome shape.

That wouldn’t love to be able to crank out several pull ups in a row.

Or run a sub 5 minute mile.

Or eat healthy foods, effortlessly.

Or have a rocking body they don’t mind showing off at the beach.

These people are everywhere.

They talk about how nice it would be, how only if they had better genes, or more willpower, or more money for healthier food or a gym membership… then they would be fit. They’d have the body of their dreams, and the athleticism needed to conquer the world.

And that’s it. These people are talkers.

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How to Do 12 Minute Athlete HIIT Workouts if You're Just Starting Out

how to get started with 12 Minute Athlete

If you’ve been a couch potato for most of your adult life, or if your definition of a vigorous workout is half an hour on an elliptical machine or recumbent bike while reading a book, these workouts must seem a bit… hard.

Impossible even.

And I’m not judging. A few years ago, I would have felt the same way.

Back then, if you’d showed me these workouts, I would have laughed in your face and told you there was no way in hell I could do one.

But here’s what you have to realize: it’s all mental.

You can do these workouts.

No matter what kind of shape you’re in, you can start doing these HIIT workouts today.

Because it doesn’t matter how many breaks you have to take, how many reps you can do or how much you have to modify an exercise just to be able to do one single rep.

All that matters is that you try—and that you really, truly give it your all.

But if you’re new to the site, or you just haven’t found the willpower to do one of the HIIT workouts quite yet even though you’ve been here for a while, here are some tips to stop you from procrastinating and start getting in the best shape of your life:

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5 Simple Tricks to Keep Motivated When You Work Out Alone

 

Let’s face it: it’s much easier to motivate ourselves to do things when someone else tells us what to do.

That’s why so many people have jobs with bosses, instead of striking out on their own. Or why someone pays tens of thousands of dollars for a grad school degree instead of reading books from the library.

Heck, that’s why people paid upwards of $120 an hour to hire me as a personal trainer when I was working at a gym in NYC. It wasn’t because they couldn’t figure out how to do the exercises I assigned them. It was because they wanted—and craved—the accountability.

Because there’s no doubt about it: doing things on your own can be hard.

And sticking with a fitness habit is no different.

You’re no longer in gym class

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably tried the 12 Minute Athlete workouts (or intend to) at some point or another.

And most likely, you’re not doing the workouts in a group environment. If you’re like me, you’re probably not even doing them at a gym. Without a doubt, most of you are working out at home, in your garage, or maybe (if you’re lucky enough to have nice weather this time of year) outside in a park.

But wherever you do the workouts, most of you have one thing in common: you do them completely alone, without a coach, a trainer, or even a friend to cheer you on.

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Choose to Be Fit, or Choose to Be Unfit: It's Your Choice

It amazes me how many people I talk to tell me they can’t lose weight, can’t get fit, can’t get healthy.

Oh, they’re very good at coming up with excuses.

They don’t have time, can’t find the motivation, they travel too much, the workouts are too hard.

Or maybe they blame their weight issues on genetics, an undiagnosed thyroid condition, big bones.

Excuse after excuse.

The whining never stops. But it’s their loss.

Because no one can force you to be healthy.

It’s completely up to you. You have to choose it.

What are your priorities?

Some people really don’t care if they are in good shape or not. They’ve made a conscious decision that food X is more important to them than a strong, healthy, sexy body and a long life.

And that’s OK.

But if you do choose to eat that fifth slice of pizza, or that second bowl of ice cream, don’t tell me that you can’t lose weight.

Because if I ate five pieces of pizza in one sitting, day after day, and skipped out on my veggies, I’d be fat too.

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7 Surprising Ways Exercise Can Make You Happier

 

Like any good mother, my mom knows me well.

Any time we talk and she can sense I’m feeling less than my normal happy self, she’ll ask the same exact thing: “Have you exercised today, Krista?”

The question used to annoy me.

“I don’t feel like exercising today, Mom,” I’d whine.

But sooner or later, I started realizing that no matter how bad of mood I was in, if I fit in some exercise, whether it was a tough workout or even just a walk outside—I felt loads better.

Every single time.

Of course: mothers always know best.

Exercise and happiness: it’s not just a myth

When you work out and stay active on a regular basis, you may have noticed that you feel less stressed out, less anxious, and generally happier.

And that’s not just a coincidence.

Because studies suggest that there is a direct link between exercise and happiness—for a number of reasons.

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